MIRNEWS.355                                         19 APRIL 1997
MIR-routine:  
Immediately after the opening of the hatches to Progress-M34 the crew began  
to unload the most important stuff for dir ect use. They used a part of the 
new arrived pure oxygen  supply and new lithium perchlorate 'disks' for 
oxygen product ion. Radiotraffic revealed that the  cosmonauts without delay 
had started the repair otf the  Elektronsystem in Module-D (Kvant-2).  On 
11.04 this Elektron was activitated, but after a few minutes during which 
oxygen was produced it switc hed itself off.  On the days to follow the crew 
regularly worked on this system and to undo the last failure they even used a 
part of the unserviceable  Elektron in Module-E  (Kvant-1). The urgent work 
on the Elektron caused a considerabl e work overload of the crew. These days 
the astronaut Linenger is often deployed to assist in this repairwork for 
which
 he has to refrain from a part of his American experiments. A few times the 
work on the Elektron had to be suspended fo r the execution of repairwork 
with a higher priority.  This had to do with a lot of leakages in the 
heating- and coolin g circuits in the Base Block and Kvant-1. The leaks in 
the cooling loops in Kvant-1 caused the outflaw of  cooling liqu id (ethylene 
glycol)  and the decrease of the pressure within that circuit.  A sufficient 
cooling is also needed for th e functioning of the carbondioxyde (CO2)  
absorber Vozdukh.  For the neutralization of CO2 in MIR's atmosphere there is
 another alternative.  Progress-M34 delivered  for that purpose canisters 
lithium hydroxyde. Meanwhile the Elektron in Module-D and the Vozdukh CO2 
scrubber are functioning. The problems with the lifesupportsystems on board  
caused a high
 humidity  and consequently a lot of condensation.  Twice a day Tsibliyev can 
be heard reporting pulse rates, blood pre ssures, skin temperatures and blood 
oxygen saturation of all crew members.
Orbitcorrection: 
Using the engines of the Pr-M34 the orbit of the MIR-station had been 
corrected on 15.04.19997 at 12.46.01UTC.  Apogee and Perigee changed from 
397.16/381.63KM  to  402.54/389.51 KM. 
Solar orbit:
Within a few days MIR will enter a so called solar orbit. During this period 
MIR will continuously remain in sunlight. 
 Then it will be more difficult to control the on board temperatures.  
Tsibliyev said that physically the crew is able to sustain this 
inconvenience, but that he has some concerns about the equipment of the 
complex.  
 1st Spacewalk (EVA)  MIR Main Expedition 23/ NASA 4:
This EVA is (or possibly meanwhile: was) on schedule for 29.04.1997.   The 
EVA will be executed if the repairworks can 
 be accomplished  before a determined deadline. 
Chris v.d. Berg, NL-9165/A-UK3202
--- Maximus 2.01
---------------